PARIS, Aug 27 Gabon authorities have suspended the broadcast of the French radio station RFI (Radio France Internationale) and France24 TV channel in the country, media group France Media Monde said in a communiqué on Sunday.
«The day after the elections in Gabon, the country's authorities decided to temporarily suspend the broadcasting of RFI and France24, the media belonging to the France Media Monde media group.» This was announced on the air of the state television channel with reference to the official media regulator of Gabon. Mond is «surprised and saddened by this unreasonable decision, which deprives the Gabonese of two main reliable and independent sources of information,» the communiqué said.
A curfew was introduced in Gabon on Saturday against the backdrop of the ongoing presidential elections. According to media reports, Internet access was also blocked in the state.
Incumbent 64-year-old head of state Ali Bongo Ondimba was first elected in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who served as President of Gabon for over 40 years. Among the four main competitors of the incumbent are two independent candidates — academic Albert Ondo Ossa and Protestant Bishop Mike Joktan, as well as the Citizens Awakening Party (PRS) candidate, businessman Terence Gnembu and former Vice President of the Republic Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavu, representing the Social Democratic Party ( PSD) and running for the presidency for the fifth time.
RFI and France24 were also suspended in early August after the coup d'état in Niger.
RFI and France24 are the main French broadcast media in Africa, covering the French perspective on events in the world and on the continent.